Articles Posted inDrunk Driving Accidents

5 young pedestrians from Long Island, NY, were injured in a car accident involving a drunk driver. On Sunday afternoon, 59 year old, Thomas Murphy was drunk behind the wheel of his Mercedes when he struck a group of 5 boy scouts walking on the shoulder of David Terry Road in Shoreham. The boys aged from 12 to 16 year old were all injured in the accident, one of them so badly that he had to be transported to the hospital by helicopter. The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated and was held overnight at the police station. The 5 boys, including the one who was critically injured, are expected to survive. They were on their way to a hike onto the Greenbelt Trail in Manorville organized by Troop 161 in Shoreham when the accident occurred. Read more in NewsDay

A pedestrian died in a car accident in the Bronx, NYC, after being struck by a drunk driver. The accident occurred Friday morning around 9:30 am. 33 year old Shakira Price, a teacher at Schuylerville Preparatory High School in the Bronx was drunk behind the wheel when she first crashed into a Kia driven by a 72 year old driver on Pelham Parkway. She sped away from the accident scene and the Kia driver started to chase her. As she was trying to get away from him, she struck Raymon Bolan, a 57 year old pedestrian who was trying to cross Pelham Parkway at the intersection of Eastchester Road. The man was transported to the hospital with trauma all over his body. He didn’t survive the accident. Price was taken into custody and later charged with vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated, and driving while ability impaired. Read more in the New York Post

Another pedestrian was fatally hit by a car on the FDR Drive on Saturday morning around 5:00 am. The victim, 50 year old Heward Velez of Moonachie in New Jersey, was allegedly running away from an accident that occurred a few minutes earlier. Velez was driving his Honda Civic on the northbound side of the FDR when he hit a Jeep near the 96th Street exit. Both drivers pulled over and got out of their cars to exchange information. Then Velez tried to run across the FDR. He was fatally hit by a Cadillac SUV on one of the southbound lanes.

Thankfully nobody was injured in a bus accident that occurred in Brooklyn, NYC, early Sunday morning. The bus was driven by 24 year old Lenny Lachman who was drunk behind the wheel. Around 1:30 am, the nine passengers on board of the B82 bus started to panic after Lachman drove erratically on Flatlands Ave and hit something near 46th Street. They called 911 and the police came to their rescue and stopped the bus. They arrested the driver. He was charged with reckless driving and three counts of DWI. He was arraigned Sunday night in Brooklyn criminal court and was granted supervised release by Judge Ellen Edwards. Lachman who started to work as a MTA driver in May 2017 was immediately removed from service without pay.

A pedestrian died in New York City on Sunday morning. He was hit by a drunk driver around 4:40 am. 32 year old David Bloomer, a father of four, was crossing Tompkins Ave at Broad St. in Stapleton, Staten Island, NYC when he was struck by a car. The driver tried to speed off but one of David’s cousins rallied a group of people to run after him. They were able to catch him a block away from the accident. The driver, identified as 25 year old, John Rudder was allegedly drunk.

During the accident, Rudder hit Bloomer so violently that the pedestrian went flying into the air and crashed through the windshield of a jeep that was parked nearby. The firefighters had to remove the roof of the jeep to try to save him. Unfortunately Bloomer died at the scene of the accident.

Bloomer left behind him 2 children, 17 year old Charlie Perez, 8 year old Mikayla Papon and 2 stepdaughters, 14 year old and 6 year old Yolanda and Dakota Makins. He was a DJ and a beloved member of the Stapleton Community.

An intoxicated driver lost control of her vehicle and crashed into a busy Weschester restaurant injuring multiple people including 4 critically. The tragedy occurred at Enzo, a popular Italian restaurant in Mamaroneck on Sunday night around 8:00 pm.

79 year old Roseanne Cassano of Yonkers just had diner at Enzo with a friend and both women left the restaurant and got into Roseanne’s car that was parked in a handicap parking space. According to witnesses, the women stayed in the car for almost 10 minutes before Roseanne started to back up. The video below shows the driver trying to exit the parking space, first clipping a car before crossing the street in reverse and crashing into the restaurant. The intoxicated driver injured 9 people including 4 critically.

When the police arrived, the woman refused the voluntary alcohol test and the police had to get a court order. She is due back in Court on Thursday after being released on bail.

A 31 year old man from the Bronx was killed by a drunk driver in a car accident in New York City. The accident occurred Saturday around 2:50 am on Burke Ave. 54 year old Andres Mayora crashed into 31 year old Shiquam Dunn. Mayora was drunk and speeding when the accident occurred. Five vehicles were damaged during the accident and two other women suffered personal injury. Dunn was the father of an autistic son. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

A van crashed into a parked car in NYC after the driver suffered a heart attack. The driver, a 64 year old man, was driving a van belonging to the Gethsemane Temple outside Kings County Hospital on Clarkson Ave near E. 37th Street in Brooklyn around 5:30 am on Sunday morning. He went into cardiac arrest and lost control of his vehicle. Thankfully there wasn’t much traffic at this time on Sunday and except for the driver who passed away nobody else suffered personal injury. There was only property damage: the driver struck a car parked in the street and a light pole. The emergency team brought the driver to the hospital and tried to resuscitate him but it was too late. (read more in the NY Daily News)

Another 64 year old man died in a traffic accident last week-end in New York City. The man was crossing Little Neck Parkway at 83rd Ave in Queens when he was hit by a car. The accident occurred on Friday night around 9:00 pm. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged. The victim was rushed to the hospital but couldn’t be saved. (read more in the NY Daily News)

A construction worker suffered two broken legs after he was struck by a drunk driver early Saturday morning in Staten Island, NYC. The driver, 28 year old Keith Hayes was driving his 2015 Nissan Altima on Midland Ave and made a right turn onto Hyland Boulevard. As he was turning he lost control of his car and hit several orange cones protecting a construction zone. He then struck a flag man barreled into the construction site and flipped his car into a ditch. The flagman was part of a crew of construction workers who were repairing a water main. He was rushed to the hospital to be treated. The driver was tested for alcohol and breathalyzer showed 0.163, twice the legal limit. He was charged with drunk driving, vehicular assault and reckless endangerment.

The cyclist struck by a drunk and unlicensed driver in New York last Sunday is still in a coma. 55-year-old Nancy Pease was part of a group of 6,000 cyclists who were participating in the “NYC Century bike tour” organized by Transportation Alternatives. Nancy and a group of around 25 cyclists were waiting at a red light at 12th Ave and 39th Street in Borough Park, Brooklyn, when a minivan plowed into them. Several bicyclists were injured. Among them, Nancy who disappeared under the minivan as the driver literally drove over her.

The driver, 39-year-old Antonio Pina, was highly intoxicated. According to the police who arrested him he had a blood alcohol level of .287, three times the legal limit. Pina also told the police he didn’t have a driver’s license. He had been drinking margaritas and Coors light before driving his van. Witnesses saw him getting out of his parking space and crashing into another vehicle before accelerating and intentionally plowing into the group of cyclists. After he ran over the woman he got out of his car with bloodshot eyes and a disheveled appearance. As the police took him away he stuck his tongue out of his mouth looking crazy.

The FDNY had to remove Nancy Pease from under the van (see video below). Pease suffered serious physical injuries including a lacerated liver, abdominal bleeding and a traumatic brain injury. She had to undergo surgery and her spleen was removed. She is still in a coma according to the most recent news from the New York Post. A few other bicyclists also suffered injuries during the accident. They were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the accident and declined to go to the hospital.

A man died in an accident after a drunk driver lost control of his SUV and crashed into a parked backhoe on a NYC highway. The man who died was identified as Abe Prior, a 30-year-old resident of Norwalk, Connecticut. He was among the 3 passengers of a car driven by 30-year-old Jorge Viteri, also from Norwalk, Connecticut. Police said Viteri was intoxicated at the time of the accident. He is now in custody. The accident occurred yesterday night around 6:30 pm on the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx, NYC. The SUV was heading North. As the SUV approached exit 7 C, the driver tried to change lanes. He hit a barrier and crashed into a large construction vehicle that was parked on the white lined center median between the Bruckner Expressway and the Throgs Neck Expressway (see picture on the left) . The impact was intense. All occupants were injured and rushed to the hospital. Abe Prior didn’t survive and died from his injuries while at the hospital. The two other passengers were expected to survive. The driver only suffered minor injuries and was arrested by the police. We question why such a large construction vehicle was left parked on the center median on a weekend. An accident such as this should have been anticipated. Read more on CBS News .

In many States if you want to become a foster parent, you can not have a DUI or a DWI conviction during the 5 years before you apply. Is this enough to protect foster children? In a recent article, Daniel Pollack, a professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work in New York City suggests the mandatory installation of an ignition interlock, which measures the blood alcohol content in a person’s system, for any foster parent who has a history of being convicted for drunk driving. These interlocks temporarily lock the cars ignition if the blood alcohol content exceeds a prescribed limit. Ignition interlocks can reduce DUI recidivism by 67%. Additionally if an ignition interlock was mandatory for all DUI offenders, it is estimated that DUI deaths would decrease by 15%.